TBR Explosion!! (part 4: Mysteries & More)
This final installment of my end-of-2021 TBR list explosion is full of mysteries, some horror, short stories, and some nonfiction. Hope you find something that is new to you and tickles your "want-to-read" fancy in this collection of 15 titles. My previous TBRs in this series can be found here: General Fiction, Fantasy, Historical Fiction.
The Troop by Nick Cutter
Genre: Horror
Published 2014, 358 pages
Added because: recommended by BookTuber Joelle Gallagher
Synopsis: a boy scout troop goes on a 3-day camping trip and run into a scary man - a carrier of a bio-engineered nightmare. A struggle for survival against the elements and the infected person.
I haven't read a good horror book in a long time - this might be it.
Between the World and Me by Ta-Nehisi Coates
Genre: Nonfiction
Published 2015, 152 pages
Added because: I like what I've read from this author
Synopsis: a series of letters written to his young son attempting to explain the experience of being a black man and put it in some sort of historical context. Audio is read by the author so I might look for that. A Pulitzer nominee.
The Woman in the Library by Sulari Gentill
Genre: Mystery
Publish date July 2022, 288 pages
Added because: mystery in a library, need I say more?
Synopsis: four strangers are sharing a table in a library when the quiet is pierced by a scream - someone has been murdered. No one is allowed to leave the library so the four begin to form friendships as they wait.....but one is a murderer. Review here.
Her Body and Other Parties by Carmen Maria Machado
Genre: Short Stories
Published 2017, 248 pages
Added because: recommended by BookTuber Noelle Gallagher
Synopsis: a short story collection - and may I interject, I'm not much of a fan of short stories, usually I'll choose the 700 page book first - that is a bit of comedy and horror, fantasy and fabulism, antic and sexy, the book moves between violence and sentimentality. Sounds intriguing.
These Silent Woods by Kimi Cunningham Grant
Genre: Mystery
Published November 2021, 288 pages
Added because: it was on a BookBub list and caught my eye
Synopsis: a daughter who lives alone in the woods of Appalachia starts to chafe at the isolation and when a stranger shows up, her father's past may be catching up to him. Atmospheric and twisty.
Do You Follow? by J.C. Bidonde
Genre: Thriller
Published January 2022, 248 pages
Added because: it was a NetGalley read now free offering
Synopsis: a psychological thriller featuring twin sisters, both with mental health issues. As one sister tries to break free of the trauma in their past and gets a job and a boyfriend, the other sister hovers in the background making trouble. (finished 2/22; 3.5 stars)
Dangerous Ground #1 by Rachel Grant
Genre: Thriller
Published August 2021, 379 pages
Added because: the premise sounds interesting - from a BookBub list
Synopsis: romantic suspense; a woman archaeologist on the Aleutian Islands races against time to save artifacts and discovers that someone on her team is there under false pretenses.
In My Dreams I Hold A Knife by Ashley Winstead
Genre: Mystery
Published August 2021, 368 pages
Added because: strong recommendation from a YouTube review
Synopsis: seven friends throughout college but in their senior year, one is killed and one of the friends is accused, but released. At the 10 year reunion, the friends make plans to discover the killer - a dark thriller.
Twenty #17 Swytek by James Grippando
Genre: Mystery
Published January 2021, 384 pages
Added because: I love this series and lawyer Swytek
Synopsis: there's a school shooting and he and his FBI agent wife get involved to catch shooter.
Sabrina & Corina by Kali Fajardo-Anstine
Genre: Short stories
Published 2019, 224 pages
Added because: I want to branch out in my reading and this got a strong recommendation from YouTuber Noelle Gallagher
Synopsis: grim stories of Latina women in Colorado as they struggle with relationships and finances, life.
Finlay Donovan is Killing It #1 by Elle Cosimano
Genre: Mystery
Published January 2022, 355 pages
Added because: a light mystery recommended by YouTuber Katie
Synopsis: a woman author up against a deadline is overheard in a coffeeshop talking to a friend about her book murder plot and is mistaken for a killer. She gets caught up in murder and investigation.
In the Dream House by Carmen Maria Machado
Genre: Memoir
Published 2019, 251 pages
Added because: a strong recommendation from YouTuber Noelle AND it's way out of my usual type of read
Synopsis: the story of the author being in an abusive lesbian relationship told in an entirely innovative way incorporating many tropes.
A Matter of Life and Death #4 by Phillip Margolin
Genre: Legal mystery
Published March 2021, 384 pages
Added because: I enjoy legal thrillers and this was recommended by my sister
Synopsis: a man is pressured to burglarize a house and when he does, he discovers a dead woman and the police have already been called.
Playing Nice by J.P. Delaney
Genre: Mystery
Published 2020, 402 pages
Added because: recommended by YouTuber Katie
Synopsis: using the trope of babies switched at birth, this is a twisty story, especially with an unreliable narrator.
The First Day of Spring by Nancy Tucker
Genre: Mystery
Published April 2021, 352 pages
Added because: recommended by YouTuber Katie
Synopsis: psychologically complex story of an 8 year old girl who kills a little boy and gets away with it, reveling in her power; 20 years later she gets phone calls and needs to protect her own daughter.
Can you give me any insight on any of these titles? Have you read one and steer me either toward or away from it? Leave me a note with any suggestions of "must read" books for me this year.
